With every save, every deflection last season, Tim Howard set off waves of angst and anxiety that rippled clear across the ocean.

England may have some of the biggest names in soccer, a star-studded lineup that gives the Three Lions their best hope of winning the World Cup since 1966. But there’s one gaping hole in the roster, and it became all the more glaring after England drew the Americans for its World Cup opener today in Rustenburg, South Africa.

The United States, you see, may still lag behind the world’s powerhouses in field players. But it’s been cranking out top-notch goalkeepers for two decades, and Howard, who plays for Everton in the English Premier League, is one of its best.

England, meanwhile, is resigned to a guy whose frequent miscues have earned him the nickname “Calamity.”

“It’s very frustrating, more than anything,” said Peter Shilton, England’s last great goalkeeper. “We have the ability to go out there and it not be a problem. But it is still a little bit.”

There are many reasons why the Americans have produced first-class goalkeepers lately, while England, the country that invented the game, has struggled.

The United States has an edge in sheer numbers, with a population of more than 309 million, about 75 million of whom are children. The country simply produces good athletes, Howard said.

Whether it’s basketball, football, baseball, soccer or some other activity, most kids are raised playing something. Often, more than one thing.

“If you look at the best ones in the world – (Italy’s Gianluigi) Buffon, (Spain’s Iker) Casillas and all the top goalkeepers – they’re athletic,” Howard said. “They’re good at different things, but that’s what really stands out. They’re over-athletic. And I think that’s what helps us.”

Indeed, Howard led his North Brunswick (N.J.) High School to the state basketball finals his senior year, and was drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters. Tony Meola, starter on the 1990 and ’94 World Cup teams, was drafted by the New York Yankees. Brad Friedel, still starting in the Premier League at 39, was asked to try out as a walk-on for the basketball team when he was playing soccer at UCLA.

“You like the athleticism,” said Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who brought Howard to the EPL in 2003. “Something we noticed in Tim Howard would be his strength. It was one of the best in the club when we did the tests on him.”

Then there’s the kind of sports American kids play.

Baseball, basketball and football, to name a few, all involve handling a ball with your hands. The catching, throwing or dribbling U.S. children do from the time they can walk – rec department programs start as early as 2 or 3 – promote the kind of hand-eye coordination critical to a goalkeeper.

“All other athletic cultures around the world, you don’t develop that type of coordination as rapidly,” said former U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who was a goalkeeper at Cornell. “For an American to go into goal and catch a ball and jump and dive, it’s not a radical change in the things they experience in everyday sports.”

Playing keeper isn’t considered a punishment in the United States, either, or a place to hide the worst player. Quite the contrary.

While field players are finding more opportunities in Europe, it’s American goalkeepers who’ve had the most visible success overseas. Americans started at three of the 20 EPL teams last year, and Brad Guzan was Friedel’s backup at Aston Villa.

The ageless Friedel holds the Premier League record for continuous games played (he’s at 228 and counting). Kasey Keller spent 17 years with the top leagues in England, Spain and Germany before returning home to play for the Seattle Sounders in MLS.

“The goalkeeper position in this country is a more sought-after position,” said Marcus Hahnemann, who just signed on for a second season at Wolverhampton. “People want to play in goal, where in England, they used to go, `Oh, the worst player, stick him in goal.’

“You watch ice hockey, as soon as the game’s over, everyone goes over to the (goalie) and pats him on the head,” Hahnemann added. “That’s the sort of attitude I think you have toward keepers in this country. I think that helps.”

Still, with the biggest professional league in the world, England ought to be able to find someone to play keeper.

It’s not as if England hasn’t had good goalkeepers. Gordon Banks helped England win its only World Cup title in 1966, and was considered one of the best. Probably the best of his generation behind Lev Yashin, in fact. Shilton played for England for 20 years, and his 125 appearances for the Three Lions is still a record.

Even David Seaman was serviceable for most of his career, before he was fooled by a 40-yard free kick from Ronaldinho and saw the ball go sailing over his head in the 2002 World Cup semifinals. No one’s been able to stop it with regularity since.

Someone is bound to come along one of these days to reverse the trend, but it won’t be in time for today.

“I guess we have that little advantage over a lot of teams,” forward Jozy Altidore said. “It’s definitely one we’ll try to exploit.”

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